LOCATION:
Jefferson County, Kentucky
Interstate 64 to Snyder Freeway to Taylorsville Road,
then east approx. 2 miles to site.

TERRAIN:Wooded

OBSERVED:THE POPE LICK MONSTER

Fifteen miles east of Louisville, Ky., the L&N Railroad passes over
Pope Lick Creek on a high trestle, approximately 80 feet above the creek
and several hundred yards long. Almost from the time the trestle was built,
it became a magnet for teen-agers who would go there at night and dare
each other to walk the trestle. Unfortunately, because of a trick
of sound in the surrounding hills, trains cannot be heard until they are
nearly on the trestle. As a result, several people have either been struck
by trains or have jumped off the trestle to their deaths to avoid a train.
These deaths are NOT some urban legend; they are real. The most recent
one occurred just a month or two ago.

This would be just a tragic case of teen-age folly except for the other
part of the story: the Pope Lick Monster, which was seen by numerous people
in earlier years. A short independent film, Legend of the Pope Lick Monster,
was made about this beast a few years ago. Copies of the tape can be found
in the Louisville Free Public Library.

Most descriptions of the monster call it a "goat man," with the body of
a man and the head of a goat, and in the film it is depicted this way.
However, the descriptions of its actions appear to have much more in common
with Bigfoot. I suspect that at the time this beast was being seen, no
one knew what a Bigfoot was.

For example, descriptions of the creature's cry refer to a long, loud wail,
possibly in mimickry of a train whistle. The creature also would scream
at people on the trestle, allegedly to warn them off, but perhaps also
to demand that they leave its territory. Also, in earlier years when the
area supported several farms, farmers would sometimes find their sheep
ripped apart.

In perhaps the best-known incident involving the monster, a group of Boy
Scouts camping on a hillside near the trestle were driven from their camp
late at night by a creature that screamed and threw stones at them. This
also sounds like Bigfoot behavior.

As far as I know the creature has not been seen for many years. I suspect
that any Bigfeet in the area have moved a few miles south, into the Jefferson
Memorial Forest, to escape rapid development of the Pope Lick area.
There have been a couple of sightings in the Jefferson Forest, which offers
thousands of acres of woods in which the creatures can roam.

ACTIVITIES
OF WITNESS(ES):

DESCRIPTION
OF CREATURE:Often described
as a "goat man." However, some witnesses referred to a white, hair-covered
creature.

OTHER
NOTES:

OTHER
OTHER NOTES:

OTHER
SIGHTINGS IN THIS AREA?:
See the GCBRO
United States Bigfoot Sighting database for other sighting reports from
Jefferson County, Kentucky.